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GPS Info.

What exactly do you want to do? If you want good detail for off road topo graphical maps and the best features I would be ready to spend 200 bucks or so. Also I have read in my researh that Garmin GPS units have better off road maps. And this a feature too being able to download maps is key so you need a GPS with a good amount of memory. I have used the Garmin Etrek, the base model it is okay but lacks alot of detail and it does not track your actual traveled distance just distances as the Crow flies. That is about all I know, hope that helps

Tim
 
My wife and I have a Magellan SportTrak Pro (I think) and it's really cool and easy to use. This was the mid-grade option as the SportTrak Topo was $100 more because it had the Topo maps pre installed, but I could always buy the Topo program for $100 and get the same result.

Anyways, It's a really good system and is normally pretty dead-on. Every now and then it'll have a day where it can't lock on very well and will jump around by 50 or so yards.

The Magellan was highly recommended by most online sources I searched, so I chose it. It's been pretty fun since we got it. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
I have a Garmin Etrex Legend.It has alot of cool features and is easy to use.One cool thing is you can pull up a map of the area your in,click on different freeway exits,and it will tell you whats there as far as food,gas,and stuff.I just used mine for the first time on a 4000 mile trip I went on and it was a great tool to have .It is totaly sealed and water resistant so I think that would be good for keeping the dust out off road /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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...does not track your actual traveled distance just distances as the Crow flies...

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Mine does.Its a setting that can be turned on in one of the option screens.
 
I've used the Magellan Color for almost two years now. Old one I had (Number display only) worked great for many years until a canoe trip drowned it. Anyone you get now are water-proof but I suggest keeping in a water tight bag/container. They have proved invaluable for getting to places and tracking where we've been and getting back out again. It interfaces with my Map-tech and Streets programs on me laptop too. Review /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
What I was saying was that the base Garim Etrex does not have this option all you get is as the crow flies distances. I expect that all base GPS units that are approximately 100 bucks will be similar.

Tim
 
Yea mines not the base one,its one or two up from that one.I only paid $160 somethin for it at BestBuy.
 
I have a magellan 315 and an Etrex (the base model) the Magellan has a lot more features and screens and has the download capability, it was about $135 at Gart's. I've been happy with both, but I only use the Etrex hiking or snowshoeing as it can't store maps. I got it from Marlboro for free anyway (just gave up a couple years life expectancy /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif)
 
I have the Gamin GPSV. I love it! The only thing I have any complaint about is its lack of memory for detailed maps. I can load all of Atlanta in it and most of North GA but on long trips you have to be selective of what you load if your not going to have access to a computer.

One of the reasons is it has a "TRUE" find feature if you have the maps loaded for the area. You can search by address on it.

The GPSV is sill available but Garmin does have some new products out and several do address the Memory issue.

I can not say enough about Garmin. My GPSV had a receiver failure at 16 months and they took care of it as a warranty no questions asked. It was way above an beyond. The person I spoke with was very understanding and porfessional. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
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I have the Gamin GPSV. I love it! The only thing I have any complaint about is its lack of memory for detailed maps. I can load all of Atlanta in it and most of North GA but on long trips you have to be selective of what you load if your not going to have access to a computer.

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I also have the GPS V... it has 19 meg of memory.. I found when I did research last year it had the biggest memory avail... some newer models may have more. I drove from Cali to Fla this last spring and I only had to load the street maps of Pensacola (where I was goin) it has all the major roads, main roads and hiways already loaded.

I also love mine... it has worked great for off-raod'n as well as general traveling /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
Street Pilot has and has had a lot more memory but a big jump in price. Also some of the products have memory card slots so you could actually buy extra cards and store the maps you need on the cards and swap as needed.
 
Just got a pair of Rino's 130 with the topo maps. They are not cheap. But if you travel with friends they work very well.
The maps package is good, you can also 'see' your friend's position. This unit also has a 'flux-type' electronic compass, which once calibrated does not need further GPS input to tell you what direction you are traveling. The FRS radio allows commuication to about 2mile in broken terrain, and as far as 10 mile in the high country (line of sight).
The unit also comes with the GRMS radio band, but I have not used it enough to comment.
Anyways, good luck.
 
I have a Garmin e trek and I love it. Its the base model and isn't loaded with features, but it gets your coordinates and thats all I need. I am impressed with the ruggedness and reliability of it.

I make maps for a living and I use my garmin all of the time for general purpose ground-truthing and it hasn't let me down yet.

Our official GPS unit we use when we really need to get coordinates is made by Trembel, costs $15,000 and you wear part of it on your back.

I also have a GPS and software that interface with my laptop. It's made by delorme. I really really like it for navigation on long trips or to places Iv never been. You know instantly when you make a wrong turn.
 
welly well....finally get a chance to be an expert in something around here for a change! /forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif
I am a forester, and a GIS tech, so I do LOTS of maps.
Yes, the Trimble units are very expensive, but you could probably drop a bomb on a lug nut though. /forums/images/graemlins/deal.gif we've got one of those too.

My personal recomendation is the Garmin Etrex Legend. The legend has a lot of User-friendly options, comes with some base road maps with more available. It has 8 Mb of storage and is WAAS ready. As the WAAS sattalites (#33 and up) come on line (currently #35 is the only one up here) you will be getting a much higher accuracy. WAAS is Wide Area Agumentation System, and allows for differential correction of your position.
There are also some great shareware programs available for it, especially if you are an ArcView user. This one works DNR garmin
and if your daring, or at least knowledgable enough check this one out
custom maps for garmin

The data cable is cheap enough, you can get an external antenna for you rig, and a mounting bracket for it too.
I also like the 'click stick'; it makes it very easy to use with one hand.
Hope this helps!
 
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I make maps for a living and I use my garmin all of the time for general purpose ground-truthing and it hasn't let me down yet.



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You work with Ian? He's in the same 4x4 club as I am.
 
Thank you for all the replys.

Now that I have shopped, I found a Magellan eXplorist 200. What do you guys know about these?

And what does this mean, "Track Logging-
Store up to 5 track log files, each with 2000 track-points,..." /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
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